


Will You be my Home

by masterfail



Category: GOT7
Genre: Child Choi Youngjae, Child Kim Yugyeom, Child Kunpimook Bhuwakul | BamBam, Domestic Fluff, Established Mark Tuan/Jackson Wang, Fluff and Humor, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Jackson is also a good dad, Kid Fic, M/M, Teacher Mark Tuan, Teacher Park Jinyoung (GOT7), jaebum is a good dad, soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-24 02:34:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23069029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masterfail/pseuds/masterfail
Summary: Jaebum is the foster father/uncle to Youngjae and Yugyeom.Jackson is the dad of Bambam.Jinyoung is a third grade teacher.Mark is a kindergarten teacher.
Relationships: Im Jaebum | JB/Park Jinyoung, Kunpimook Bhuwakul | BamBam/Kim Yugyeom, Mark Tuan/Jackson Wang
Comments: 7
Kudos: 67





	1. Chapter 1

Jaebum was at a meeting with a client when he got the phone call. Not recognizing the number, he ignored it at first, prioritizing his client’s needs over whatever the reason may have been for the call. But when his phone rang and rang and rang and didn’t stop ringing until Jaebum excused himself from the meeting and actually answered it, thinking that maybe, it might be an urgent issue.

He stepped outside of the small cafe to answer his personal phone, annoyed that he had to delay his work matters. “Hello, Im Jaebum speaking.”

“Oh finally!” The man on the other end of the phone sighed in relief. “Mr. Im, I’m terribly sorry to interrupt you at work, but something has come up with your son at school today…”

Jaebum’s heart started racing, fearing the worst. “W-which one?”

“Both of them I’m afraid…” 

Thankfully there was a chair nearby, or else Jaebum might have collapsed on the spot. “Oh God, what happened? Did Yugyeom break his arm? Is Youngjae sick again? I can’t pay for another trip to the hospital… Please tell me that my boys are alright…” Jaebum’s heart clenched, he felt as if he were going to pass out.

“Oh no! Nothing major like that!” The man put his fears to rest and Jaebum’s heart slowly started to calm down.

“Then what?” Jaebum asked, still worried, but for a different reason.

“There’s been a fight…” Jaebum groaned outwardly. “Can you come to the school immediately?”

He felt anger bubble up and completely erase his previous worry. “Yes, of course. I’ll be there as soon as possible.” Jaebum hung up the phone without bothering to hear the other’s reply. Pinching the bridge of his nose and went back in to inform his client of the emergency. Luckily she was a mother of five, and very understanding. She told him to hurry and make sure his boys were alright and that she’d call him later to set a date for their postponed meeting.

Jaebum thanked her and left for the school, preparing to face the worst. When he did finally make it to the school, he was directed to what looked like a conference room. Two teachers were quietly discussing something when Jaebum entered, accidentally interrupting their conversation.

“Um… Hello?” Jaebum started, unsure of how to begin.

“Oh, you must be Mr. Im, Youngjae and Yugyeom’s guardian.” A young teacher, likely no older than twenty four smiled and gestures for him to sit. “Please take a seat we’re just waiting for Mr. Wang and Mrs. Kim.” Jaebum complys and sits wearily.

“Are the boys alright?” He asks after a moment of contemplation.

“Of course, they’re just fine. A little shaken up maybe, but overall, they’re okay.” The man put Jaebum’s worries to rest then smiles warmly at him. “Oh, I don’t think I ever introduced myself. I’m Park Jinyoung, Youngjae’s teacher.” Jaebum nodded and looked at the other man standing quietly in the corner.

“I see. And you are…?” Jaebum looked at him expectantly.

The man opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the door flying open. “WHERE’S MY SON? IS HE HURT? I SWEAR I’LL SUE A FIVE YEAR OLD IF I HAVE TO OKAY! AIN’T NOBODY ALLOWED TO TOUCH MY BA- Mark?”

“Jackson?”

“Wh-what are you doing here?”

“I’m a teacher at this school… Why are you here?”

“My son got in trouble and- oh fuck…” Jackson covered his mouth and looked around the room, trying to avoid the other man’s eyes.

“You have a  _ son _ ? And you didn’t  _ tell me _ ?” The man, Mark, was angered. He crossed his arms and leaned forward, ready to lash out, but Jinyoung stopped him. 

“Hyung, now’s not the time.” Jinyoung’s soothing voice calmed Mark down a bit, but anyone with two brain cells could clearly see how upset he was.

“Oh, Jaebum, you’re here too?” Jackson finally noticed the presence of his best friend and he took a seat next to him. “Does this mean Gyeomie’s in trouble too?”

“And Youngjae.” Jaebum answered solemnly.

“Oh… So I guess the boys won’t be coming over for a while then?” Jackson sighed.

“Likely not, no.” Jaebum pinched the bridge of his nose, suppressing his anger.

The door opened once more and a woman entered. She was wearing a faux fur coat and far too much makeup. Jaebum almost gagged with how strong her cheap perfume was.

“Oh, hello Mrs. Kim. Well now that everyone’s here, let’s get started.” Jinyoung smiled a bit ruefully and took the seat across from Jaebum. Mark sat next to him, across from Jackson, still shooting daggers at the man. The woman took a seat next to Jackson and crossed her legs, a scowl present on her face. “So the reason you’re all here is because your children all got in a fight.” Jinyoung didn’t cut any corners, Jaebum was grateful. “The statements from the boys are all here in this file.” He held up a yellow folder that was labeled ‘Statements’ in green crayon. The man cleared his throat after setting the folder down in the middle of the table. “There is a small issue however…”

“What is it?” The woman snapped. “I haven’t got all day.”

Jinyoung stared at her, unfazed. “One statement doesn’t match up with the others.”

Jaebum reached for the folder, then stopped to look at the teachers. “May I?”

“Yes, of course.” Jinyoung smiled warmly at him.

Jaebum opened the folder and quickly found two hand written statements, one was written by Youngjae, the other likely written by Yugyeom’s teacher or some other adult. He removed them from the folder and quickly scanned over the documents. Jaebum couldn’t help the smile of pride that stretched across his face. “Ah. I see…” He chuckled a little before replacing the two statements in the folder and folding his hands together on the table.

“What are you so happy about?” The woman snarled, Jaebum only chuckled and shook his head at her.

“Nothing you’d be able to understand I’d imagine.” 

Jackson dug through the folder until he found the statement he was looking for, read it and grinned as well. “Awwe. Jaebum, our boys are so cute.” He cooed and nudged his friend with his shoulder.

Jinyoung stifled his chuckled behind his hand. Mark’s glare faltered slightly at Jackson’s smile, but he quickly recovered his stony expression when the woman snatched the folder quite rudely from Jackson. “Let me see that.” She snapped as she flipped through the papers, reading each statement given by the students.

Jackson’s finger dripped blood slowly onto the table from a paper cut. Mark was the first to notice. He frowned and dug through the backpack next to him until he found what he was searching for. Bandaids. Without a word, Mark took Jackson’s hand and delicately applied the adhesive. Jackson had the dumbest look of infatuation on his face the whole time, making Jaebum want to gag. Jinyoung simply smiled at the interaction. The moment was rudely interrupted when the woman huffed loudly, throwing the papers at the two innocent teachers.

“What is the meaning of this?” Mrs. Kim demanded. “Those boys are liars! My son would never start a fight! I’m going to press charges against those lying hellions!” Jaebum’s anger once again bubbled up.

“Who-”

“Mrs. Kim,” Jinyoung spoke calmly, interrupting Jaebum’s explosion before it could even happen, “the problem isn’t who started the fight. We have cctv for exactly that kind of discrepancy. The problem lies with the words that were said.”

“And what words were said?” She was grinding her teeth, making her look like a snarling animal, especially with all the fur she was wearing.

“Your son’s...  _ vocabulary _ is rather alarming, Mrs. Kim.” Mark spoke this time, frown never leaving his face. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard an eight year old use such strong invectives in all my life. I, myself, don’t feel comfortable repeating them…”

“Actually, I would also like to know exactly what was said to cause such an incident.” Jaebum smiled warmly. “If you don’t mind, that is.”

Mark sighed dejectedly. “Very well. Now, keep in mind this is the conversation as I remember it.” He paused to take a breath before speaking again.


	2. Chapter 2

Recess is the best part of the day, for Yugyeom, especially since on Thursdays he could play with his big brother.

Yugyeom sat happily in the sandbox with Bambam, his best friend, and waited for Youngjae to come out to play too. The older kids always came out ten minutes after they did, but to Yugyeom and Bambam, that ten minutes always seemed to last a lifetime.

But they made it work. Every Thursday Yugyeom and Bambam would make their way to the sandbox and playhouse until Youngjae got there and then they’d go to the swings where they’d take turns having Youngjae push them, competing to see who could swing higher. And this Thursday was no different.

Bambam and Yugyeom were a pretend family. Yugyeom was the dad, and Bambam happily played his wife, cooking him sand burgers on their plastic bucket stove. When Yugyeom pretended to get home from work, he’d always give Bambam a kiss on the forehead, which always made Bambam smile a little brighter than the day before. Both children only had one parent, but that didn’t stop them from playing and having fun.

They were still playing house when the older kids came out to play too, but Youngjae wasn’t with them. Yugyeom was upset that his big brother didn’t want to play with him today -- at least that’s what the poor six year old had thought. In reality, Youngjae just had to go pee, so Mr. Park, his teacher allowed it as long as the boy wasn’t too late in meeting up with the class outside. Anyway, in his momentary devastation, Yugyeom began to cry, and still playing the part of his wife, Bambam comforted him lovingly.

“Awe, it’s okay Gyeomie. I’ll always play with you, I promise.” The small boy wrapped his arms around the shoulders of his friend and kissed his wet cheek. “Do you want me to push you on the swings?”

It was this scene that another boy, Junho, witnessed and was disgusted by. He marched over to the two six year olds and promptly kicked over the small, makeshift sand fort they had constructed and called their ‘home’. “That’s gross you little gay fag!”

Sand had gotten into Bambam’s eyes and now it was his turn to cry. Seeing this, Yugyeom wiped his tears away and stood up. “Leave us alone!” He demanded as harsh as his little voice could muster.

“Shut up! You’re just a gay faggot!” Junho easily pushed Yugyeom to the ground as he was much bigger than the tiny six year old. Bambam was still crying and rubbing his eyes, trying to get the sand out. Yugyeom had hit his head on a small rock buried in the sand and cut his forehead, but was too upset to notice it. Junho then ruthlessly kicked more sand at the innocent boys. Yugyeom, thankfully saw what he was doing and protected Bambam by pulling him into a hug and hiding his friend’s head.

It was at this point that Youngjae made his way outside, excited to play with his little brother. Upon seeing Junho bullying his baby brother, Youngjae immediately ran over and tackled the boy. Having the boy pinned beneath him, Youngjae tried to hit his face, but was promptly picked up by his teacher and pulled away from Junho.

“Youngjae, no! Don’t you dare ever do something like that again!” Jinyoung scolded him. Youngjae promptly started sobbing, trying to explain why he had to stop Junho, but failing miserably as heaving sobs shook his whole body, making any sentence utterly incoherent.

“Jinyoungie, don’t yell at him, he did nothing wrong.” Mark spoke calmly to his friend. “Look at the other boys.” Mark, who was holding firmly onto Junho so he couldn’t run away, gestured to the two small children hugging each other tightly, covered in sand.

“Oh no.” Jinyoung choked out then released his grip on Youngjae to attend to the younger boys. “Boys, are you alright?” Jinyoung spoke softly as he tried to rub some of the sand off the boys.

“Ba-a-m-mie has s-s-sand in-in h-his ey-es.” Yugyeom spoke softly, stifling his own sobs.

“Oh no…” Jinyoung continued to brush the sand off the boys as he helped them up. As soon as the young teacher managed to get the boys standing and facing him, he saw the blood running down Yugyeom’s face and nearly fainted. “Mark, take your students to the nurse, I’ll deal with mine.”

______________

  
  


Jaebum’s fist clenched tightly under the table. He’d never thought he’d want to strangle a child, but now he thinks that maybe some kids deserve it.

Jackson was in a similar state. His usual happy-go-lucky disposition was replaced by heavily contained anger.

“So you’re punishing my boy for telling the truth?” Mrs. Kim, oblivious to the danger of her words, spoke her thoughts incredulously.

Jaebum snapped. His eyes narrowed at the woman and his jaw locked out, defining his anger quite clearly. “Excuse me, but do you think it’s okay to ridicule a child for their sexuality? Do you honestly think that it’s acceptable to humiliate a six year old by calling him a fag? That’s something that’s morally alright with you? Do you think bullying a highly impressionable child is fine as long as what’s said is the truth? If so, Mrs. Kim, I don’t think you’re fit to be a part of society, let alone be the mother of an eight year old child.” By the end Jaebum was standing, looming dangerously over the frightened woman. His expression was dark and his knuckles had long since turned white from the pressure of his own strength. He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his anger. “Being gay is no reason judge, ridicule, or humiliate  _ anyone _ ,  _ especially _ not a six year old. How  _ dare _ -”

“Jaebum, I think that’s enough now.” Jackson raised a hand and gently pressed on his friend’s shoulder. Jaebum reluctantly sat down, still angry, but not in any danger of blowing up again.

The woman finally reigned in her fear and surprise to look at Jaebum with disdain. “Don’t tell me you’re a fag too.”

“So what if I am?” Jaebum matched her venomous gaze with ease. 

Mrs. Kim was about to retort, but was stopped by Jinyoung’s soothing voice. “Mr. Im, Mrs. Kim, I don’t think this is the most appropriate situation to argue about point of views on homosexuality.” The young man’s smile was pleasant on the surface, but anyone who knew him could easily see that it hid insurmountable levels of irritation and contempt. “The main agenda of this meeting was to inform you, the parents, of the happenings involving your children at school. Mark and I have discussed these matters at length and determined that fair punishment, for all parties involved, would be suspended for three school days. This punishment is non-negotiable, all four boys will receive this punishment, no matter their role in the incident. Is this understood?”

His words left no room for objection. The three parents could only nod solemnly in response.

“Good. You are all free to take your boys home.” Jinyoung gestured to the door. “They’re in the office next door with the principal.”

“You, sir, will be hearing from my lawyers.” Mrs. Kim huffed indignantly at Jaebum as she left the room in a storm. Jaebum, being a lawyer himself, knew there was nothing he had done wrong and her words held no weight with him. 

“Hey I’ll see you in a few days man.” Jackson pat his best friend's shoulder before leaving to get Bambam. Mark followed him out wordlessly.

Jaebum was about to get his two boys when a hand reached out to grab his elbow, stopping him from leaving. “Um.. Mr. Im…” Jaebum turned to face the man, eyebrow quirked in an unspoken question. Jinyoung smiled warmly at the man. “Would you mind staying behind for a bit? There’s something I would like to speak with you about. It’s about Youngjae.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Of course.” Jaebum answered and returned to his seat. “What is it?”

“Well, you see, Youngjae is by far my friendliest student. He has no trouble getting along with anyone and he always has a smile on his face. In fact the only time I’ve ever seen him upset was today.” Jinyoung’s eyes crinkled in such a way that made Jaebum’s heart flutter ever so slightly. “I’m just worried it’s unhealthy if he keeps his true feelings in for prolonged amounts of time. Today was obviously an extreme case, and certainly warranted such a reaction from him, but if it had been over something smaller… I apologize if I’m overstepping any boundaries by saying this, but I think Youngjae needs a healthy outlet for his anger. He shouldn’t hold it in for so long.”

Jaebum could clearly tell the other man was genuinely concerned and meant no offense. He smiled slightly at him. “I completely agree with you, but I’m not sure how I can do anything to help him.” He sighed. “You see, my sister and her husband died not long after Gyeomie turned six. Youngjae is only eight but he still wants to take care of his little brother so he’s always tried to be happy and mature. I do everything in my power to take care of them, but I think losing his parents at such a young age made him try to be more adult like. I’ve not even had them for three months, so I’m not sure how to let him know it's okay to still be a kid.”

Jinyoung nodded as he listened to the other man's worries. “I see. The best outlet for a child is to focus on doing something they like. For instance drawing or playing a sport. Is there anything in particular that Youngjae likes?”

Jaebum scrunched his eyebrows together in thought. “I’m not entirely sure to be honest. I’m still adjusting to having them, and I haven’t been able to spend as much time with them as I’d like due to my job. Most of the time Jackson babysits them for me when I have to work overtime. Honestly you as his teacher probably know more about my nephew than I do as his legal guardian.”

The younger man nodded in understanding. “Alright then. Try to pay close attention to the boys these next few days. If there’s something in particular either of them like, try to nurture it as much as possible. Encourage and support them when you can.” Jinyoung took a blank paper from the shelf nearby and a green crayon from his pocket. “I know it’s been difficult for you to suddenly have two young boys thrown in your care. Here’s my personal number, please feel free to call me if you need something.” He smiled brightly at the older man as he handed him the sheet of paper.

Jaebum felt something stir in his heart. No one had ever acknowledged the stress he had been under trying to raise his two nephews out of nowhere. Everyone else had been concerned with how the kids must be feeling suddenly losing both of their parents. It hadn’t bothered him a single bit, as he himself was more worried about how the boys were doing than his own self. Nonetheless, it felt good to have someone show concern for him.

“Thank you Mr. Park.” Jaebum smiled genuinely at the teacher. 

“Please, call me Jinyoung.” The younger man matched his grin.

“Right then, thank you Jinyoung. It really means a lot to me.”

Jinyoung held back a chuckle at the other man's earnest words. “You should probably go get your boys now, they’ve been waiting a long time.”

At his reminder, Jaebum stood up and left the room finally. When he entered the principal’s office Yugyeom stood up and launched himself at Jaebum’s legs, wrapping himself there like a koala. Snot and tears instantly being rubbed and wiped on his suit pants.

“Uncle JB, don’t be mad at Youngjae! He didn’t do anything wrong he only wanted to help me and Bammie! You can’t be mad at him! I won’t let you! If you’re mad at him then… then I won’t go home! I’ll run away, I swear!” Jaebum didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. What sort of child threatens to run away to protect their sibling?

He bent over and lovingly rubbed the child’s head. “Gyeommie, you don’t have to worry. I’m not mad at Youngjae.”

The child reluctantly met his gaze, snot dripping down his nose while he cried. “Really?”

Jaebum smiled and wiped the tears off his round face. “Really really. So you don’t have to run away, okay?”

The child sniffed and reluctantly peeled himself off of his uncle’s legs. “Okay…” 

Jaebum then reached down and lifted the child up to hold him close. “I’m sorry you were scared today, Gyeommie.”

Yugyeom wrapped his arms around his uncle's neck, letting the man hold him. Youngjae, seeing this scene felt left out and came to Jaebum’s side and wrapped his arms around his waist. Feeling the child’s embrace, Jaebum reached down with one hand to rub his head lovingly.

After a moment of this, Jaebum set Yugyeom back on the ground and kneeled to face his nephews. “Now are you guys ready to go home?” 

When the two children nodden obediently, Jaebum grinned at them and stood up straight. “Then, let's go.”

When the family of three made it to Jaebum’s black BMW and he got Yugyeom strapped into a carseat, Jaebum received a phone call from Jackson.

“Hello?”

“JB, I’m taking Bambam out for ice cream. Meet us with the boys.”

“Jackson-”

“You’re not allowed to turn me down. Good bye.”

“Wait, Jackson-”

“I said good bye!”

Then he hung up.

Jaebum sighed at his best friend's whirlwind personality. He started the car and proceeded to the small family owned ice cream shop that he and Jackson frequented when they were still in college. Jackson and Bambam were already seated and enjoying their frozen treat.

Youngjae and Yugyeom happily ordered their favorite flavors of ice cream. Youngjae wanted whipped cream and a cherry on top and Yugyeom wanted lots and lots of sprinkles, which the cashier was happy to oblige. Jaebum asked for a milkshake so he wouldn’t have to deal with three sets of sticky hands.

Yugyeom squeezed his way into sitting next to Bambam and the two happily tried each other's ice cream. Youngjae obediently sat across from his brother and next to his uncle who was sitting opposite Jackson. The children immediately started their own conversation and were happily discussing how super cool it was that they got three days off from school.

“I’ve never wanted to beat a child half to death before today.” Jackson stated calmly.

Jaebum hummed in agreement before shaking his head. “You can’t put the blame on the child. That mother of his is most certainly the reason for his... _unruliness_.” He coughed and grinned at his friend. “Besides, you’re a trained fighter and athlete. If you so much as touched her, you’d lose not only your livelihood, but also Bambam.”

“Hey you’re the big shot lawyer here, and you’re my best friend. How could you possibly bear to see me lose everything?” Jackson waved his ice cream cone in Jaebum’s face.

“If you hired me as your attorney I could certainly get you out of the mess, but you don’t get a discount just because I’ve known you for fifteen years.” Jaebum quirked an eyebrow at the other man.

Jackson feigned offence. “Uh! Rude! No best friend discount? Blasphemous!” Jaebum laughed at his friend before Jackson gave him a serious look. “Do you think she was being serious when she said she’d sue you?”

Jaebum shrugged. “Who knows. It doesn’t matter though. What lawyer would dare take a case to try and sue me?”

Jackson laughed. “I’d say you’re being arrogant, if I didn’t know you.”

“You do know me, and I am arrogant.” A charming smirk spread across his face as he tossed his crumpled up straw wrapper at Jackson’s face. “What are you going to do with Bambam now that he can’t go to school for three days?”

“I can take him to work with me. He can sit in the breakroom at the gym and not be in the way, but on Friday, I have to go to a client’s house and I can’t bring him with me. So I’m not really sure what to do then.” Jackson sighed. “What do you plan to do?”

“Honestly I haven’t the slightest clue. I can’t exactly bring them to work with me three days in a row, and I’m in the middle of a case right now, so I can’t work from home either. If I’m lucky I can wrap up the case by Thursday, but it's all up to the jury.” Jaebum frowned. “Could you possibly take them until Friday?”

Jackson nodded. “Yeah of course I can take them. No problem. Though if you happen to find arrangements for Friday, I’m gonna need you to hook me up.”

Jaebum laughed. “Of course. I can do that for you.”

“Wait Friday’s a holiday right? So the kids originally don't have to go to school, right?”

Jaebum pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes. Unfortunately that means we have to find arrangements for Monday too… I can talk to my boss about Monday, but I can’t guarantee anything.”

“No worries, I can take them to the gym again if you can’t bring them to the office.” Jackson finished off his ice cream cone. “Perks of not having a desk job.” He chuckled.

“Oh shut up. You know I’d take them everywhere with me if I could.” Jaebum kicked his ankle under the table. “But thank you. I’ll let you know what my boss says.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I started writing this story two years ago, and it was meant to be one chapter, but I got writer's block halfway through and then kind of forgot it existed. I was cleaning up my google docs when I found it again and I was like "oh shit this is actually good?" so on a whim I was like "I bet I can finish writing this by the end of the day"... surprise surprise I didn't. When I started writing the third chapter I was like... "maybe I should publish this and write when I have time like I used to" so that's what I'm doing now.
> 
> I haven't written anything in two whole years, so it's gonna be rough going at the start. However, I hope you all can stick with me as I find my inspiration and style again. Anyway, I'll try to update at least every two days from here on. Look forward to it. :)


	4. Chapter 4

Jackson and Bambam arrived back to their apartment a little after six’o’clock. Bambam had fallen asleep in the car, so Jackson had carried him in and tucked him in bed. He gave him a light peck on the forehead before shutting off the lights and closing the door to let his baby sleep.

He then went to the balcony alcove to make a phone call, praying that the other man would pick up the phone. Jackson’s heart raced with each passing second. One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Four rings.

“Hello?”

“Oh thank God you picked up. I was so worried you’d be mad and not want to talk to me for the rest of my life.”

“You’re right.”

Jackson’s heart dropped to his stomach. “W-what?”

“You’re right, Jackson. I’m pissed. I didn’t want to answer the phone. I really don’t want to talk to you right now.”

“Mark… I…”

“But I love you.”

“What?” Jackson’s heart was racing for another reason now.

“I’m really really mad at you right now, but I will sit here and let you explain why you lied to me, because I love you Jackson Wang. I love you, and I don’t want to lose you, so please tell me you have a damn good reason for lying to me.”

“I was scared.” Jackson blurted out. “Terrified really. I thought that if you knew I had a son, you’d hate me and leave me. I wanted to tell you so many times, really I did, but I was so worried you hate me, or worse hate Bammie, and I wouldn’t be able to take that. I want the best for him, and I’d never ever bring someone into his life without knowing they’re safe to be around him. I never worried about that with you being a teacher and all, but I didn’t know how you’d react to dating someone with a kid and everytime I wanted to tell you I’d overthink and end up missing my chance to say anything. I’m definitely rambling now, but you haven't stopped me so I’m gonna stop myself before I say something I may regret.” Jackson sucked in his breath, biting his lower lip.

For a long time Mark didn’t speak. Jackson thought his lungs were going to burst before finally the other man said something. “You were scared that I’d hate you for being a loving father?”

“Yes… well no…. Sort of…. I really don’t know exactly what I was scared of, but I know the thought of telling you I have a son made my knees weak and my heart would race and I’d get cold sweats. I was just scared. For no reason.”

“Is he yours? Biologically I mean.”

Jackson hesitated. “...Yes.”

“Where’s his mother?”

“Dead. I didn’t even know she was pregnant until I got a call from the hospital asking me to pick up my son cause his mom died in childbirth.”

“His name is Thai though.”

“His mother named him, I didn’t want to change it. I felt it’d be too disrespectful to her. The only problem is that I couldn’t pronounce it so I started calling him Bambam cause he seems to like The Flinstones for some reason.” Jackson chuckled. “Mark, I love my son more than anything in the world. I’d do anything for him. I don’t want to bring someone home who won’t love my son just as much as I do. That would hurt me more than breaking up with someone that I love and want to spend the rest of my life with…. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Mark paused on the other line before responding. “Hm. I understand Jackson.”

“So….” Jackson hesitated. “Are we breaking up?”

“Of course not silly.” Mark chuckled lightly. “It just so happens that Bambam is one of my favorite students. I’m upset that you lied to me, but I understand why. Now, can you promise never to lie to me again?”

Jackson readily agreed. “Absolutely! Never! From now on nothing but the truth, the whole truth, so help me God.”

“Good.”

“Now can we talk about how you said that you love me three times in a row?”

Mark ended the call abruptly, leaving Jackson alone in the dark once again.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the chapters short today, but I promise this is the last of the angst, from now on nothing but fluff I swear
> 
> Scouts honor


End file.
